Should left-over food be allowed to cool down before storing in the refrigerator?

Question

Or should the leftovers be put in the refrigerator right away? Or does it depend on what kind of food it is?

This is a debate between me and my mother-in-law.

Answer 1

having managed restaurants for quite a few years, i would recommend this. For any dish that has beef, pork, poultry,etc, it should cool down for at least 15 minutes before storing in the refrigerator. Also if it is covered with foil or plastic wrap, leave one edge open for another 20 minutes or so and then recover. When you reheat, as a simple quick safety move, heat to boiling or to 165 degrees for any meat/poultry based dish.
one of the most dangerous contamination conditions is tomato based products.
any mayonnaise based dish should stay in the refrigerator in my opinion. i believe it only takes 15 minutes for food poisoning to happen if a mayonnaise based product is left at room temperture.
stuffing should always be cooked out of the bird for safety reasons. so basically, be very careful as food safety conditions can become life threatening in an extremely short period of time.
good luck and happy cooking

Answer 2

as quickly a obtainable... The cool temperatures interior the refrigerator decelerate the attitude of enzymes interior the food and decelerate micro organism duplicate. This prolongs food high quality, flavor, and texture, and keeps food safer longer. Refrigeration does not kill micro organism and may be able to no longer strengthen food high quality. don't be afraid to place warm meals interior the refrigerator. the utility is made to cool down meals. The chilling technique will happen greater directly interior the refrigerator, as quickly as back giving micro organism much less time to strengthen interior the temperature threat zone of 40 - one hundred forty levels Fahrenheit. in case you have a huge casserole or dish that must be chilled, separate the meals into smaller, shallow (no greater advantageous than 3" deep), individual packing containers for speedier cooling. it may take a pot crammed with warm poultry soup 24 hours to chill out to a secure temperature interior the refrigerator! Divide and triumph over micro organism!

Answer 3

Meat and fish should be refrigerated as fast as possible, preferably within 2 hours, especially in warmer climates. The food does not have to be cold, it may still be warm (but not boiling hot, obviously). It won't warm up the other stuff in the fridge and in fact the benefits of putting food back in the refrigerator quickly greatly outweighs the possibilities of getting salmonella poisoning etc. by waiting too long.

Answer 4

In a commercial food service environment, we MUST bring the temperature of the food down to 40 F or below in less than two hours before storing in the refrigerator. Leaving it on the counter to cool or putting it straight into the refrigerator while hot could both encourage bacterial growth and cause food borne illness. You can stir the food with a cooling wand or place the container of food into a larger container full of ice water and stir to drop the temperature as quickly as possible.

~Morg~

Answer 5

The USDA recommends , and health codes for food handling in restaurants require that hot prepared foods be cooled as quickly as possible, (the preferred method being placing the storage container of the food in a larger container of ice water to drop the temp. as fast as possible, to an internal temp. below 40F.), PRIOR to placing the food in the fridge.
It's the time factor here, bacteria grows so quickly, and in order to slow the growth, dropping the temp as fast as possible is the key. Often, sealing the food and throwing it in the fridge will extend the time the food's temp. will be over 40 in the center, long enough for harmful bacteria to grow...and the cold won't kill it once it's there. It's also why all leftovers should always be heated to at least 140F. before eating, that's the minimum temp. to kill most harmful bacteria.

Answer 6

Promptly refrigerate cooked foods in shallow containers Keep food fresh by following these guidelines, based on the recommendations of the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Instructions
STEP 1: Maintain the refrigerator at 41 degrees F or below. STEP 2: Keep the freezer at 0 degrees F. STEP 3: Cut poultry and meat into small pieces and place them in the freezer or refrigerator immediately. STEP 4: Wrap raw meats and poultry in plastic or place them in containers to keep their juices from contaminating other food. STEP 5: Refrigerate hot food immediately or let it cool slightly before refrigerating. STEP 6: Pour soups and stews into shallow containers before placing them in the refrigerator. STEP 7: Leave eggs in their carton and place it in the refrigerator. STEP 8: Store vegetables and fruits in crisper drawers. Tips & Warnings
Avoid storing perishable items on the refrigerator door.
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors tightly closed.
Open refrigerator and freezer doors only when necessary, and close them as soon as possible.
Wipe spills in the refrigerator immediately.

Answer 7

Well the CDC recommends you put food in the fridge asap. You don t need to let it cool down. This cool down method started back in the days before electric fridge. They use to use ice blocks back then to keep fridge cold. So to prevent the fridge from heating up and melting the ice block it made since to cool the food then store in fridge. hope that helps!

Answer 8

Yes, definitely. Storing warm/hot food in the refrigerator will cause the refrigerator to use more energy in trying to chill it. The warm food, as it chills, will diffuse its heat to whatever is around it in the fridge. It is not good for the refrigerator, nor for other foods in it.

Answer 9

As you can already see it really is a matter of personal preference. I place food directly into the fridge and leave the lid slightly agape to allow for heat to escape.

Yes it can alter your fridges temp, but for a short time, and it will recover, your other foods will not be adversely affected so badly that they will spoil. Yes you can let it cool first, but bacteria and other things are more prone to grow if left out (even covered)

Really if your mother-in-law is this anal I fear for you. She is a pill. It truly is not worth argueing over.

Answer 10

Well me personally i put food in the fridge after i let it cool down otherwise i get way too much condensation in the container and then it drips onto the food and depending on what it is it could end up soggy.